COURSE REVIEWS

Never too Early to Start Planning Your Spring
Golf Trip to Myrtle Beach

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

Myrtle Beach, SC - While most of the country is covered with snow (including South Carolina), the first of February is closing in fast, and soon spring will be gracing the shores of the Grand Strand. By the time you book your ticket, or fire up your Rand McNally Trip Maker to plan your road trip, the snow will be gone and the temperatures will be on their way towards tolerable, and quickly approaching enjoyable.

Here are some things to consider as you plan your spring golf trip to the Grand Strand:

It's a Parking Lot

11 million people visit Myrtle Beach and its environs each year, and of those 11 million, 9 million drive. If you have been to Myrtle even once, you know that three or four state highways can't handle the traffic volumes produced not only by visitors, but by the hundreds of new homes that come on line each month.

According to the Institute of Traffic Engineers Trip Generation Manual, one single family home produces 10 person trips per day. Put that in the equation, and a new 500-home development along Highway 501 spews about 5000 new trips onto the existing roadway system.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation has plans for a new Interstate Highway, I-73, but with concrete laden mega-highways not being as popular or as well funded as they were in the 1950's and 60's, don't hold your breath.

That being said, plan your arrival and departure times carefully. If at all feasible, plan your trip to Myrtle Beach on the weekdays, and arrive before the morning and evening traffic peaks.

Also, be extremely weary of weekend warrior-like holidays such as Memorial Day, or President's Day - such three-dayers are when the North Carolina and Virginia armies mount their attack.

Compartmentalize Your Stay

You're coming to Myrtle Beach, so either a) you have been before, and loved it, or b) you have never been, but you will love it and you will return. So, instead of trying to play Sea Trail and Pawleys Plantation over the same weekend, refine your destination.

Decide upon an area of the Strand you want to focus on. You will be back, so you can play the other courses the next time. Consider these sub groupings:

South Strand

If it's serenity, less traffic, funky seafood dives, and some of the best new and old courses in town, the South Strand is a great choice. Top shelf courses range from Pawleys Plantation and the Tradition to the Caledonia Golf and Fish Club and True Blue. Mix in Wachesaw East, the Heritage and Litchfield Plantation and there is more golf than you can handle in one vacation. Grub is a "done deal" down on the northern edge of the Low Country, as Murrell's Inlet cranks out fresh seafood, fine Italian and down and dirty dive bars.

Highway 501

Some cities have "strips" strewn with casinos, restaurants, or bars. Myrtle Beach actually has a strip of golf courses, also known as Highway 501. Eloquent golf course marquees line the corridor like windows in a shopping center, and the pickings are plentiful. Course selections include Belle Terre, Myrtle Beach National, Wild Wing, Man O War and the Wizard, the Witch, and Legends. In fact, the land use along 501 is so consistent, that you actually have to drive all the way into the beach just to find a meal that is not served at the 19th hole.

Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach

The nucleus of it all, this is where it all began over forty years ago. The courses speak for themselves - the Dunes Golf and Beach Club, the Surf Golf and Beach Club, Beachwood, Arcadian Shores and the list could go on forever. In terms of booze, food, and shopping, you are also in the heart of it all, with Barefoot Landing, Broadway at the Beach and the House of Blues.

The North Strand

Actually located in North Carolina, the North Strand is comprised of Brunswick County, and the scenic Brunswick Islands. The North Strand is not nearly as commercialized as the rest of Myrtle Beach, and actually boasts more mom and pop joints than Eagle stores. Calabash is a picturesque fishing town famous for its seafood and hospitality. Golf courses range from the newly opened and critically acclaimed River's Edge in Shallotte, to Panther's Run, Lion's Paw, Lockwood Folly and the much anticipated Tiger's Eye.

Plan, Plan, Plan

The notion of the spontaneous vacation is a Draconian pipedream when dealing with Myrtle Beach. There are too many people that want to do the same thing at the same time to hop in your minivan with five of your buddies, pull into a beachside motel, and nail down five tee times for the weekend. Don't feel like a dork if you have everything planned down to a tee.